The Primary is in the BAG – the Real Fight Begins NOW!

We might not have had a big RED wave here in California, but we sure as heck didn’t have a blue one either – and that’s a whole lot better than a poke in our Election Eye.

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom

The good news is that we actually have some candidates who speak our language, which is like a breath of fresh political air in what has been a dank, musty basement. There were two Republican candidates in the governor’s race who stand in robust defense of the 2nd Amendment: businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen, who has been a consistently bold voice and vote for gun owners. At the end of the night, however, the top two vote getters were Cox and anti-gun zealot Gavin Newsom. They will face off in November, and be assured, this is the race where honest, gun owning citizens of California will be categorically vilified. Newsom will do everything he can to win by demonizing anyone and anything having to due to guns, and if history is any indicator, there is no lie he won’t tell to get there. And, if history is any further indicator, the media will likely focus more on his slick smile than his issues with the truth.

Judge Steven Bailey

We also will have a terrific choice for Attorney General – in a rare, but crucial move, GOC made a pre-Primary endorsement of Judge Steven Bailey. We have known Judge Bailey for years – he has been a long-standing active member of GOC and honorably stands with us on Constitutional issues and in

Attorney General Xavier Becerra

particular, the 2nd Amendment. He will challenge incumbent Attorney General Xavier Becerra (appointed by Governor Brown to fulfill Kamala Harris’ term once she waselected to the U.S. Senate) who garnered far fewer votes than was anticipated. More than half chose to vote for someone other than Becerra, but the liberals still have claimed this as a “victory”. We do not. We consider this an open door to mobilize behind a solid, pro-gun candidate. An opportunity.

There were of course, some serious screw-ups, too – such as the 76th Assembly District where there were so many Republicans on the ballot that they virtually handed the race over to two anti-gun Democrats to spar against one another in November. It’s not like we are flush with pro-gun legislators in California, and now we will have one less. Gee, thanks, guys. What a way to employ strategery.

News reports about the election – both state and national – are obviously mixed. Referencing California, one headline reads “Big, Blue Shutout Fails” and goes on to note that “it looked like there might be a few seats – notably the Anaheim-area seat of retiring Republican Ed Royce – where the Republicans might be shut out of the general election…That appears not to have happened – not in the Royce seat, not in the San Diego-area seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, and not in Huntington Beach where Republican Dana Rohrabacher, a former speechwriter for President Reagan seeking a 16th term, easily made it into the next round….the failure to achieve what some were calling a “big, blue shutout” also didn’t extend to the gubernatorial contest. Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom easily advanced to the second round of balloting as did Republican businessman John Cox, who had the endorsement of President Trump.”

All this to say, we are not going to wait until October to start mobilizing the gun vote and we need you to help us. With the March for Our Lives students on a national tour determined to register as many anti-gun votes as possible, we cannot let this go unchallenged. The influence of the 2nd Amendment voter can be incredibly powerful – we just need to light a fire under those who are tempted to disengage and unplug. You can help us do that. Register your friends and families to vote. Volunteer on a campaign for a pro-gun candidate. Donate to a pro-gun cause! And when the election rolls around, offer to take someone to the polls.

We are going to beat this drum until November, and we really don’t care if people tire of it – because from our vantage point, the truth never grows old:

“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Reader Interactions

Comments

While I applaud your stance on the 2nd amendment, I am a retired senior with limited ability to support financially all the organizations that mirror yours. Have you actually sued the State over any of the clear infringements the state has legislated? I know for example that the Firearms policy institute has done so and won. I need to husband my limited funds for those who act and not merely inform, though the information is important , action is crucial. The NRA has received a great many donations from people like me in the wake of Parkland, but, unless they are doing it under the radar, few, if any lawsuits have been put against the many unconstitutional laws and regulations imposed in many locales across this country.

Additionally, both the NRA and CRPA have filed lawsuits challenging California’s gun laws, as has FPC. The role of Gun Owners of California is to support such legal challenges with amicus briefs (aka friend of the court briefs) which is detailed in the blog link provided above.This is an extensively coordinated and critical element of the legal process. GOC assembles various groups from law enforcement or other state associations, whose voices would not be otherwise heard – and we fund these briefs. Virtually every lawsuit filed by our 2nd Amendment friends have received our support when the cases get to the appeals process.

Our legal involvement has reached the Supreme Court of the US and our briefs have, in fact, been quoted by Justices of the Court. Please be assured we will continue our three-pronged approach, to stand in defense of the 2nd Amendment in the Legislature, the elections and the courts.